Adventures in Puppy Land, Part Three

The Puppies Are Three Weeks Old!

On Sunday (Valentine's Day) the puppies turned three weeks old. There have been a lot of changes in the wee furballs since my last post! If you haven't read Part One - A Puppy or Two or Adventures in Puppy Land, Part Two, I suggest you read them first. ;)

One morning I noticed a wee bit of blood on the towel at the bottom of the puppies' bed. I picked up each puppy and checked it over for any wounds. Upon examining Damia, I noticed that her peri area was very swollen, red and raw. I immediately removed her from the other pups and made her a bed in a laundry basket. After I applied some Bridine to the open area, Damia went to sleep quite peacefully.

The reason that she was so swollen and raw in that area was that Alcyone, Hyperion and Helios were using her wee nou-nou as a teat when they were hungry. Now, after a week of Bridine treatments, careful monitoring of the pups during play and feeding times, and keeping them separate for sleep times, I am happy to tell you that Damia's peri area has pretty well healed up and returned to normal. Yes, the other pups do still try and suckle on her, but I move them away from her as soon as I catch them at it. Damia is also learning to keep her behind firmly on the ground when one of the other pups try to worm their way under her. I am sure that the pups will grow out of the suckling stage quite soon, then Damia will be safe from the wee terrors. ;)

Why am I so sure that the puppies will be out of the suckling stage soon? Because they all have developed little teeth in their wee mouths. They have wee sharp back teeth and a few pups have other front teeth poking through. Even Apollo has teeth now. I am quite surprised that Sheba is still allowing him to feed off of her, but I have yet to hear or see her nudge him away, so I guess he isn't biting her yet.

It is quite comical to watch the pups at play as they open their mouths to "play bite" each other and try to show who is alpha of the pack. Little Alcyone seems to be the toughie of the bunch, while Apollo just lets the pups crawl all over him, like a good "big" brother should. ;) The little furballs will soon learn however, that I am the Alpha Bitch in the pack. LOL

There is an adventurer in the pack. I am sure that Damia is a reincarnation of some great and fearless explorer. The little vixen has managed to escape from the laundry basket and went travelling all over the room. She finally ended up stuck in a corner between the wall and humidifier, crying for help. I removed her from there and plunked her down in the play area with her stuffed monster to play with. I switched the laundry basket for a tote bin and now Damia will have difficulty escaping form there. (I told you I am the Alpha Bitch). LOL

Another place that Damia has managed to free herself from is the "playpen". I normally put the four pups in there to eat and play and so that they are contained in one spot and I don't have to worry about them while I go and warm their bottles. Well, little Miss Damia decided not to eat her puppy mush and that, while I was in the bathroom filling the sink with hot water to heat their bottles, she would just crawl over the edge of the box and go travelling. I returned to the room after being gone not even three minutes and there was Damia, sitting by the gate in the doorway looking so very proud of herself as she looked up at me with the cutest little face. How could I give her heck? LOL Unfortunately, now she is trying to convince her siblings to "crawl over the wall" and join her in freedom.

The pups are now eating puppy mush three times a day. If you need a recipe for puppy mush (you can even use it for older dogs that have poor teeth and gums) here you go.
Puppy Mush
Grind up a whole bunch of dry puppy food ahead of time.

• 1/3 cup of hot puppy formula (I zap it in the microwave on high for one minute)
• 1/2 cup of ground dry puppy food
• Hot water

Add the ground dry puppy food to the hot puppy formula and mix it well.
Let mixture stand a few minutes until the puppy food has expanded and absorbed all of the formula
Mix in the hot water a little at a time until the mixture resembles baby cereal.
When the puppy mush is cool enough, let the puppies at it!

Yesterday, I decided to try Apollo on the puppy mush. I removed Sheba from the room and put the mush bowl on the floor outside of his "cave". Apollo timidly licked a wee bit and found that he quite enjoyed the taste and went on the eat more of the mush.

I'm not sure what Sheba thought of the whole thing, but when she was allowed back in, she promptly ate the rest of Apollo's mush, cleaned up her pup and then took him into the "cave" to nurse.

One wee problem that we are having with Sheba is that she will not allow the other pups to play with Apollo. I think that we have that problem solved. :)

During playtime, we remove Sheba from the room and close the door. Then the four "orphaned" pups are let loose in the play area outside of the "cave" where Sheba and Apollo dwell. Before too long, either Apollo is out of the cave and checking out his siblings, or the puppies are inside the closet and climbing all over him. After playtime, we return Apollo to his lair, put the pups into their beds and when Sheba is let into the room, she is none the wiser. You have to be one step ahead at all times in order to outwit her. ~~grins~~

Well, I think that this is about all the news from Puppy Land for now.  Tomorrow is another day and I am certain that there will be many puppy adventures to write about next week.  Do keep watch on my Facebook Puppy Album as new photos are added quite regularly and you can follow the puppies' development from birth until they leave home with their new adopted families. I have added in over 50 photos since my previous post. ;)  Enjoy and have a great week!

Adventures In Puppy Land, Part 2

When the pups were born a week past on Sunday, there was only 3 that Sheba allowed to suckle on a regular basis (Zeus, Apollo and Pan) and she nudged the others away. If they wiggled back toward her, she became aggressive and would push them away, often by putting her mouth over their heads and moving them that way.

We had managed to get her to lie down and allow all the pups to suckle for a few minutes to get some of those antibodies (see previous note), but we had to monitor them real close! Sheba (the mom) babied the three pups and pretty well ignored the other 4.

That night, we started bottle feeding them and doing the "piddle and poop" thing for them. On the Tuesday last week, Mark called me at work and told me that he had went to check on the pups and that one was dead (Pan) and he was working on a second one. I hurried home and he was doing puppy CPR on the one (Zeus). After an hour, I told Mark to let him go as there was no response from him. I couldn't find a heart beat and although his mouth would occasionally open and close, I am sure that was from the wee puffs of air that Mark was giving him.

We think that Sheba was accidentaly laying on the pups and smothered them as there was no blood or broken skin on the wee ones, and these two were favourites of hers.

When Zeus and Pan were gone, Sheba put all of her energy into Apollo, completely ignoring the others and pushing them away if they came close to her. She would growl at them and put their head into her mouth and make them cry. Mark and I quickly removed the 4 pups and made a bed for them in the dresser drawer.

They are quite happy in there with their hot water bottle and snuggling up to each other.

On Saturday, Mark decided to see what Sheba would do if he let her see one of the pups. She sniffed, and then started licking the pup and he voided and pooped. So, after that, each time we feed a babe, Sheba comes over and does her puppy grooming.

Sunday night, I was sitting on the bed feeding Damia with Sheba lying beside me. After Sheba cleaned her off, Damia wiggled toward her, and Sheba opened her legs to let Damia suckle. It only lasted about 10 second, but it's a start. We only allow her to be with the 4 pups under strict supervision and so far, she has only allowed two of her 4 "orphaned" pups to suckle for a few seconds.

Her favourite, Apollo, is a different story all together. She has him sleeping with her in her cave (the closet). She allows him to eat whenever he wants (methinks he is overfed) and is super protective over him. Apollo is twice the size of the other 4, and can barely move! The other pups are starting to try and lift their bellies off the ground and walk on 4 legs (it's funny to watch them lift their rear ends up, take a step and topple forward, then get up and try again). Apollo is too big and is still wiggling himself around. Hopefully, once the pups are started on their puppy mush, Apollo will do better weight-wise. ;)

The one drawback to all of this personal attention that the 4 pups are getting, is that I am falling in love with them. How can one not when you hold them in your arms and cuddle them while feeding? I am especially drawn to Damia for some reason. She loves cuddles and snuggles into me with contented sighs after being fed and burped. I know I can't keep any of the pups and it will be so hard to let them go when it is time. :(

Ahh well, such is life. Hopefully the pups will remember their "human mom" when they are older and will stop for a cuddle if we pass on the street. :)

Meanwhile, photos of the puppies' first week have been added to the puppy album. Puppies are a week old!  If you don't already have a Facebook account, you may need to sign up to view the photos.
Enjoy! :)

Removing the Old, Catching Up with the New; Even a Puppy or Two!.

Where to start? I've removed all of the old worn out posts and kept only those that I feel are meaningful or important. Now it's time to catch up on a few things, mainly puppies!

Yes, I said puppies. :)

Sheba is a sweetheart who was found on November 22. We believe that she was abandoned. She had no collar or tags, was very tired and was running back and forth on the road each time a car came along, looking for her family.

When hubby opened the door to the Jeep, This wee tired doggie jumped right in, lay down on the seat and fell asleep.

We tried to find her family, but no one came forward to claim her. We have now given her a forever home with us.

We could not figure out why someone would have let this little treasure go. She is polite, quiet and loves attention and cuddles. We think that we solved that mystery.

Jan 7, 2010

Well, I think we have discovered the reason that our little stray, Sheba, was abandoned. (Insert foul language here aimed at her previous owner). Her belly and teats are getting bigger and she's started to eat like a wee piglet. If she is pregnant and not a false pregnancy, we figure she is about 7 weeks along, probabley a wee bit more. Time will tell. At 8 weeks, we should be able to feel movement of the pups.

Jan 10, 2010

How do I tell Sheba that she is to start sleeping in a box in preparation for her pups arriving? I showed her the box and she looked at it, looked at me and said "Are you crazy? why should I sleep in that when there is a nice soft bed?"

Jan 14, 2010

Sheba will probably deliver within the next few days. Her box is cozy and comfy. She lay in it for about 10 - 15 minutes tonight, and hopefully will have her pups in it. I'm excited, but worried too. Will she care for them or will I have to be a surrogate mommy? Stay tuned for Adventures in Puppy Birthing.

Jan 15, 2010

Baby bottle and nipple: check. Dental floss: check. Scissors (sharp): check. Betadine: check. Cotton swabs: check. Stethoscope: check. Towels (hanging over the heater): check. Just need a few cans of evaported milk and some corn syrup to prepare formula for any pups that mom won't feed.

Jan 25, 2010

Adventures in Puppy Land Well, it is finally over. Sheba has delivered 7 healthy pups; 5 males and 2 females. She did very well during the deliveries, but as this is her first litter (so we suspect), she was quite unsure as to what to do at first.

When Zeus arrived at 5:56 a.m. (frist born) Sheba cut the cord too long,licked him a wee bit and then was unsure what to do next. I took the pup when she left him and tied and cut the cord, cleaned him up, rubbed him to get him warm and then introduced him to his mom. She was quite good and let him suckle.

Next came Apollo at 7:24 a.m. I thought that there was a bit too much time between the two pups, and I understood why when Apollo came out halfway, butt first. After a tense minute, out he came fully. Sheba seemed to know what to do this time, removing the sack, cutting the cord, cleaning him and then allowing him to nurse.

Pan followed at 8:05 a.m, and by now, Sheba was a pro, delivering and cleaning up. When she finished cleaning him, she sat up and looked at me as if to say "Take him away now". I took him and placed him in the box with his brothers.

Next came the first female, Damia, at 8:36 a.m. , followed by two males, Hyperion at 9:09 a.m and Helios at 10:58 a.m.

Finally, the last pup, the female Alcyone, was born at 12:47 p.m.

Sheba did not allow the last 5 pups to nurse, instead growling at them when we tried to introduce the pups to her teats. She was probably sore and too tired.

Mark went and prepared the formula for the pups. If you ever need a good puppy formula, here it is:

1. 8 oz. evaporated milk
2. 8 oz. water
3. 1beaten yolk. Do NOT use the whites as they are not good for the pup
4. 1 tbsp. corn syrup.

Mix well and make sure that the milk is warm before feeding.

Each pup ate well. :)

After a few hours of letting Sheba rest, we decided to try again. Mark went to the store to get some tasty treats for Sheba (bribery) and while he was gone, I cleared out the closet for her, as it seemed that she might want a "cave". (Thanks for the idea, Judy!) She did and immediately went inside and lay down.

When Mark got back from the store, he put on a pair of leather gloves, in case Sheba snapped at him, and we got down to business. Mark spoke gently to Sheba while petting her. When she was calm, I placed a puppy in front of her.

Sheba gave a wee growl, but Mark continued to pet her and speak with her and introduced the pup to Sheba's teat. When the pup was latched on, Mark gave Sheba a treat.

We continued this way until all 7 pups had latched on and were suckling. Finally, Sheba understood that she has to nurse her babies.

When she thought that a pup had had enough, she would nudge it off the teat and away from her. There were about 4 pups still hanging on when Sheba decided she had had enough and stood up and walked out of her "cave". Of course the pups dropped off onto the floor, but were not hurt. :)

Since Sheba was still not snuggling with the pups to keep them warm, I got a hot water bottle for them and Mark put a wee heater in the room for them. The pups quietened down after they were warm. :)

All was well for most of the night, until about 4:00 a.m. when I was awakened by crying puppies. Sheba was lying down near them, but not feeding or mothering them. She looked at me quite worredly, so I again gave her the pups and she washed and fed each one, but only a little bit each, then she left them alone again.

I then took Sheba outside and she was a good girl, doing both her businesses, then coming in and running upstairs to check on her babies as soon as we came inside. :)

It will take a while, methinks. Sheba is young to be a mother, so we will continue to suppliment the puppies with bottle feedings, give them snuggles and keep them warm. As time goes on, she will be more motherly, I am sure. :)

Lady is doing very well during all of this. She is worried when she hears the pups crying and goes and stands at the gate to the room where mother and pups are, and looks in to make sure everything is okay. Maybe when the pups are a few weeks old, we'll introduce her to them and see how she is with them. :)

Well, that is about it for the first visit to Puppy Land. I'm sure that I'll have many tales to tell as the pups grow and become more active. Meanwhile, enjoy the photos that I uploaded of the puppies' first day. :)

Oh, before I forget, all the pups are named after Greek Gods and Goddesses. :)

In order of birth:

Zeus - God of Sky, Weather, Thunder and Lightning and Cloud Gatherer. God of Home and Hearth, and of hospitality to strangers.


Apollo - God of Music


Pan - God of Goatherds and Shepherds


Damia - Goddess of Growth in Nature


Hyperion- God of Light


Helios - God of the Sun


Alcyone - Goddess of the Sea, the Moon, Calm and Tranquility

Sheba's 7 puppies born on January 24, 2010
Some scenes (birth scenes) may be upsetting to some people.
Puppies Photo Album